Download Seamless Wetlands Data

There are two methods for downloading seamless wetlands data as viewed on the Wetlands Mapper. The Wetlands Data Extraction Tool uses the USGS topographic quadrangle names for area selection and extraction. You can also download data by State. Each State data download is available as either a compressed file Geodatabase or a Shapefile. You can view the Shapefiles by using ESRI's ArcExplorer free software, among others. Geodatabases require a full ESRI ArcDesktop license.

Click here to open the Data Extraction Tool

Wetlands Data Extraction Tool

The Wetlands Data Extraction Tool uses the USGS topographic quadrangle names for area selection and extraction. If you are unfamiliar with the name of the quadrangle you wish to download you can use the Wetlands Mapper to zoom to your area of interest and view the quadrangle names.

Not all of the United States or U.S. territories have been digitally mapped by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Please use the Wetlands Mapper and the Wetlands Data Availability layer to verify that the area you are selecting has digital data available.

How large of an area can I download?

Depending on the region you are extracting data from (lower 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the USVI, Pacific Trust Territories) different features are used for data extraction. Below is a list of available areas for selection.

• Lower 48 states — USGS 1:24,000 or 1:100,000 topographic quadrangle
• Alaska — USGS 1:63,000 topographic quadrangle
• Hawaii — County and USGS topographic quadrangle
• Puerto Rico and USVI — County and USGS topographic quadrangle
• Pacific Trust Territories — County/Island

Coordinate System

All data downloaded using the Wetlands Data Extraction Tool will be in the Geographic Coordinate System (GCS) with a North American Datum (NAD) of 1983.

What will I Get?

With each download you will receive a .zip file that contains one or all of the following Shapefiles:

• Wetland_Polygons — NWI wetland polygon data.
• Metadata — NWI project metadata including image dates used for delineation.
• Historic_Map_Info — NWI historic map report information.

Note: Acreage information for wetland polygons along the edge of the download area will be incorrect for the polygon, but correct for the wetland. Acreage was calculated on the raw data, in an Albers Equal Area Projection, before the data was clipped. If accurate acreage within the area of interest in needed, we recommend reprojecting the data into an equal area projection and recalculating the acreage field.

Extraction time

Due to the amount of data being requested (especially when using a 1:100,000 quad for data selection), the resulting processing time to prepare the download file may take up to 13 minutes. Please be patient while our server works to prepare your file. In the event the server cannot process your file, you should receive a message in your browser window indicating the server was unable to fulfill your request at this time.

Download Seamless Wetlands Data by State

By selecting a State file below, you can download current seamless wetlands data as viewed on the Wetlands Mapper.

Before you begin

Each State data download is available as either a compressed file Geodatabase or a Shapefile. Both files are compressed by using the .zip format.

Not all of the United States and U.S. Territories have been digitally mapped by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Please refer to the Wetlands Mapper Wetlands Data Availability layer to view where wetlands have been mapped. Each download also includes a 'Public_Metadata' data layer that identifies where and when wetlands were mapped within the state.

NOTE: Due to the variation in use and analysis of this data by the end user, each of states wetlands data extends beyond the state boundary. Each state includes wetlands data that intersect the 1:24,000 quadrangles that contain part of that state (1:2,000,000 source data). This allows the user to clip the data to their specific analysis datasets. Beware that two adjacent states will contain some of the same data along their borders.

Coordinate System

All data downloaded is in the Albers projection with a North American Datum (NAD) of 1983.

Download time

Due to the amount of data being downloaded, the resulting processing time to prepare the download file may take up to 60 minutes or more, and can range in sizes from 1 to 463MB.

State Downloads (file downloads last updated September 21, 2009)

Custom Wetland Data Extractions